STOCKTON - It was a humbling couple of months for Markus Duran, but he never stopped working.

The walk-on senior has been good at basketball for a long time, including starting 22 games for Pacific last season, but he was stuck on the bench for the first month this season because of what coach Bob Thomason called poor performance in the spring, summer and training camp. The Cabrillo College product from Murray, Utah, remained positive and has worked his way back into the rotation the past four games and is finding ways to contribute with 22 points, including six 3-pointers, four assists and four steals in 61 minutes.

"Of course not playing isn't fun, but I just tried to stay positive and take it as getting better," said Duran, who led Pacific with 47 3-pointers last season. "I have confidence in myself and I approached every game like I was going to play, and if I didn't, it wasn't my decision. I was ready to go when I was called upon."

Duran and the Tigers (10-8, 4-2 Big West Conference) are currently in second place and will look to strengthen their position during a three-game homestand that begins against UC Riverside (5-13, 2-4) at 7 p.m. today at Spanos Center.

Thomason said he's glad Duran has found a niche with this team, but said he had to earn it after losing his starting position to junior transfer Sama Taku. Thomason wanted to see improvement on defense, in ball-handling and decision-making before giving Duran any minutes.

"My job isn't to make people happy; it's to get a team playing well," Thomason said. "He fought through it, made some adjustments and has done a great job. The last four or five games he's really making a difference for our team."

Sixth man Ross Rivera was one of Duran's teammates who told him to remain positive when he wasn't playing, and the junior forward said Duran has provided a real boost for the second unit with his hustle and confidence.

"When he comes in, the energy level picks up," Rivera said. "If he has an open shot, he's taking and making it, and it's a great feeling knowing he's the one shooting."

Duran has taken and made some long 3-pointers in his time at Pacific, a skill appreciated by Thomason, who was a shooting guard at Pacific from 1968-71. The coach said he's fine with Duran taking long shots, provided he's open and not rushing them. Rivera said the entire team goes "crazy when (Duran) makes a long 3."

The Tigers will likely need every bucket they can get against the Highlanders, who prefer to keep the pace slow and used a balanced, but limited offensive attack. Junior forward Chris Patton out of Australia leads the team in scoring at 12.6 points per game, with fellow junior Chris Harriel averaging 11.1.

Pacific won its past two homes games by a combined 40 points over UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly, and Thomason is hoping that sort of dominance can become the norm at Spanos Center.

"We're trying to go through conference undefeated at home," Rivera said. "It's our court and we want to make it tough on anybody we play."